


When Only A Father Can Understand

by miss_spontaneous_68



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Baggage, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21555364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_spontaneous_68/pseuds/miss_spontaneous_68
Summary: Percy had been struggling to cope after returning from war.
Relationships: Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson & Poseidon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 151





	1. Chapter 1

Percy felt as a powerful presence engulfed the room.  
"I'm here to pick up my son…"

"D-dad...?" Percy hiccuped.  
His father slowly turned to him and knelt at his bedside. His one hand wove into his son's hair.  
"I'm here to take you home..."

"Dad...," he whispered quietly, choking on his words as his eyes suddenly blurred with tears.  
Poseidon gently cupped his arms in his warm palms. "I've got you... Can you walk Percy?" "I think so…"

Percy tried to stand before the world spun and blurred before him. He fell. His father caught him.

/line skip/

Poseidon quietly tucked him into his bed, gently soothing a hand against his son's cheek.

"How did you know?" A soft voice asked from the door. Poseidon turned to find Sally Jackson staring at him. "I always know..."  
Sally knelt beside him, dabbing a cool towel against his forehead.

Percy, just hours before, had a panic attack at school.

Poseidon continued to coax a hand through his hair. Percy eyes drifted shut, but he seemed to be afraid to sleep every single time his body would try and let him.

"Perseus... Do you need my help? I can help you sleep without the visions..." Poseidon hand gently cupped his chin.

"Please...," Percy practically begged, and Poseidon felt his heart squeeze at Percy's sudden clarity. He gently rested his palm against Percy's forehead. "I promise that this won't hurt..."

Percy sighed in audible relief.  
Poseidon slowly rose onto his haunches, his eyes drifting toward Sally Jackson. Her eyes fogged as she stared back at him. "He really needed that..."

Before he knew it, he was crossing the space between them and reaching out to embrace her.

"I'm so sorry, Sally... Neither of you deserve to live like this."


	2. Beneath The Apple Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Similarly to the last one, this is another example of Poseidon's perspective as Percy struggles.

Poseidon was watching from a distance as his previous lover and his son sat down together in the shade of an apple tree. Percy tried to withhold his tears as he whispered about all the things that he was struggling to grasp. She offered him comfort.

"Perseus...," He whispered softly to himself, wishing that Percy could hear his desperation; to see his son and to hold him.

Percy immediately began rubbing at his eyes to stop the tears when he saw Poseidon.  
"Percy...," Poseidon whispered to the boy, frowning at his embarrassment. He gently pulled Percy's hands from his face.  
Percy turned his cheek away. More tears leaked from his eyes. Poseidon gently pulled his wrists away.

"Your tears are beautiful... Don't hide them from me..."  
He felt a deep love for his son. Poseidon gently touched Percy's cheek, speaking rapidly to him in the ancient tongue.  
Percy stared up at his father. He smiled at Sally out of the corner of his eye. 

Percy's arms were taut around his father. "Never forget that I love you, Perseus. Alright?" Percy sobbed slightly as he hiccuped, nodding into his father's shoulder.  
"Good," Poseidon murmured, gently curling his hand into the familiar raven locks.

He turned to her and asked a series of dumb questions, before she started to laugh when he purposely mispronounced Paul's last name. "Oh, Poseidon," she laughed quietly. He turned to stare at her with those beautiful eyes of his.


	3. The Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what I would've wanted Poseidon to do after Percy met him on Olympus.

Percy imagined Poseidon taking a cab with him to his apartment and immediately realized that he could not come.   
The image of his father froze in Percy's mind as he left Olympus. 

/line skip/

''How dare you come back here, you little brat! Get out of my apartment before I call the police!'' 

''Gabe, stop!'' He glared at her, raising his hand as though he was going to hit her.  
Someone came up behind Percy at the door. ''Get away from her...''   
Percy stared up at the man in awe. ''Father?'' Sally was awestruck, mouth agape at Poseidon.

''Sally, come here...,'' he whispered softly, reaching his hand out to her. ''I won't let him hurt you any longer...'' 

/line skip/

"Try not to misunderstand me, Percy. You are not a wrongdoing. Nor, will you ever be, no matter how many mistakes you make. I said this to Zeus because I know how much you will have to face in the future, and it pains me to put you in this position.''   
Percy stared up at his father in blatant shock. His eyes began to tear up when he realized that he was actually sharing these words with the man he had wanted to know his entire childhood. Poseidon glanced at Sally, smiling at her. She smiled back at him, tears filling her warm eyes. 

''Do you have to go?"  
''I think I will stall as long as I can.'' He took Poseidon by surprise when he desperately flung his arms around his father. The boy's raw strength caused Poseidon to step back from the force of the hug. He squeezed Percy. 

Zeus was going to kill him. He didn't care.


End file.
